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Snap Shots: The Rule of 12 - or 12 rules for 12 months
by Harry Flashman
It is the New Year and there should not be one amateur
(or professional) photographer who does not wish to improve their
photography. Well, there shouldn’t be anyone who doesn’t! For you, the
keen amateur, I present my Rule of 12, which if you follow them through, I
will guarantee you will get better photographs. And get more fun out of
your photography.
 Rule
10, daylight flash
The first is simply to use more film. Photography, like
any sport, recreation or pursuit is something where the more you do it and
practice it, the better you get. That just means putting more film through
the camera. Film and processing is really the cheapest part of
photography, especially when you compare it to the purchase price of a
half decent camera. Use more film!
The one major fault in most amateur photographs is
taking the shot from too far away. From now on, make the subject the
“hero” and walk in several metres closer to make the subject fill the
frame.
Focussing! With modern auto-focus cameras the most
obvious focussing problem is where the subject is off-centre. The magic
eye doesn’t know this and focuses on the background, leaving your
close-up subject soft and blurry. Focus on the subject and use the focus
lock facility of your camera.
Tripods I have mentioned recently, but one of these
will expand your picture taking no end. Camera shake becomes a thing of
the past, and you will take more time to compose your shots.
Don’t be afraid to process half rolls - it will keep
your interest and enthusiasm going. If your photo-processor doesn’t do
it, change your photo-shop.
Keep your interest and pride in your work by making
enlargements of your better photos. At around 80 baht for most places,
this is very cheap and enlargements do make good presents at Xmas time
too.
We all get lazy and it is too easy to end up just
taking every picture in the horizontal (landscape) format. Make it a habit
to always take two shots of each subject - one in the horizontal format
and the other in the vertical. You can get some surprising results that
way. Don’t be lazy - do it!
With colour photography, which covers about 99.99% of
most people’s pictures these days, the one major factor to give your
skies and seas and scenery some colour oomph is the use of a polarizing
filter. Get one and use it.
You will always miss some “classic” shots and
regret it later, but you certainly will never get them if you don’t have
a camera (with film) with you. With so many incredible photo opportunities
in Thailand, you should be photographically ready at all times!
To give your daytime shots some extra sparkle, use
“fill-in” flash. Most new cameras have a little setting that will do
this automatically for you - even with point and shooters. If you
haven’t, then spend some time learning how to do it. It’s worth it
when you see the results you get.
To give yourself the impetus to go out and take photos,
develop a project and spend your leisure time building up the images. It
can be flowers or fashion, cars or canaries, but fix on something and
follow it through. It’s worth it, just for the fact that it makes you
become an “enquiring” photographer.
Finally, at the end of every year, give the camera a
birthday by buying it some new batteries. You won’t have a problem
damaging the sensitive innards with neglected battery acid and the
camera’s light metering system will work correctly every time. It’s
cheap insurance.
Here is the list to cut out, laminate and put in the
camera bag.
1. Use more film
2. Walk several metres closer
3. Use the focus lock
4. Buy a tripod
5. Process half rolls of film
6. Make enlargements of your better prints
7. Use different formats
8. Use a polarizing filter
9. Carry your camera with you
10. Use the flash during the day
11. Develop a project
12. Change the batteries
Modern Medicine: One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and one cough isn’t SARS
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
2003 was an interesting year from the medical point of view.
We ‘discovered’ a new epidemic called SARS and also discovered that the
news-hungry media needed a good threat to the world to sell newspapers, after
the Iraq War travesty lost its appeal when the weapons of mass deception were
not found.
Unfortunately we are now in the situation that when anyone
gets the slightest chesty cough they seem to think that they are the next
carrier of the sequel SARS II. Let me assure you that the chance of that
happening is about as high as dying from being hit on the head by flying pig poo.
However, there has been quite an epidemic of coughs and colds
recently, so if you didn’t get a cough consider yourself to be lucky. The
latest bout has been a form of Tracheitis. This is inflammation of the trachea,
that part of your breathing tube to the lungs before it splits to become the
right and left bronchus. The clue is in the ending - “itis” which generally
means inflammation and / or infection. Thus you can get Appendicitis
(inflammation of the Appendix) and Pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx)
etc., etc, you get the picture.
Infection and irritation of the breathing tubes is, as we
said in the beginning, very common. With Tracheitis, it generally begins as a
slight irritation deep in the back of your throat. There can be some soreness as
well, even on swallowing. Unchecked this develops into a ‘productive’ cough,
with loads of gunk being coughed up, which we refer to as ‘sputum’.
One of the signs and symptoms your doctor will want to know
is, “What colour is your sputum?” This gives us a chance to see if your
cough is from an irritation or infection. If you are bringing up large lumps of
yellow or green glue then you have an infection, but if the mucous is clear then
you probably do not harbour a nasty little bug in your throat. If, however, the
sputum is red and bloodstained then you may have burst a little blood vessel in
the throat - or of course, this could be an early sign of lung cancer - but
don’t panic yet!
If the sputum you are coughing up is thick, green and gooey,
this is fairly suspicious of a bacterial infection, and sometimes we will
attempt to ‘grow’ the bug to identify it. No, this is not for germ warfare,
it is just so that we can feed the tracheal bug some different antibiotics to
see which ones exterminate the bug best. This is a much more accurate way of
choosing the correct antibiotic, than selecting ones by the price or the pretty
colour they are on the pharmacy shelves.
If you have gone over a week and your cough is showing no
sign of letting up then it really is time to line up with all the other coughers
at the outpatients department. Just make sure you can describe the colour of
your sputum!
I should have mentioned that if you are a smoker, the chances
of the cough lasting longer are much higher, as well as being more likely to
catch the cough from someone else - but it’s still not SARS. Smoking lowers
your immunity, irritates your bronchial tubes and makes you more likely to
develop all types of cancer. Think about it.
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
My rabbit’s foot has failed to bring me good luck lately,
so I thought if I swapped it for a Koala Bear my luck might change. Santa
Clause was in one of the large department stores recently and I was waiting my
turn to give him my Christmas order. When I was seated upon his knee, he asked
me what I wanted for Christmas. I whispered in his ear, “A koala bear charm
would be really neat.” On Christmas morning I was awoken by the sound of
grumbling. I looked inside my Christmas stocking to find a real live naked
koala. How could Santa have got it so wrong? Is it old age or does the beard
around his ears need trimming so that it doesn’t interfere with his hearing?
By the way, Christmas Day was so much fun with my koala friend after I got some
furry clothes for him.
Mighty Mouse
Dear Mighty Mouse,
How nice to hear from you again, especially at Xmas time,
when all little mice are just so busy. I am also glad to hear that you did
something to stop your bear being bare, they get so cranky when they get cold I
believe. You will also see that I had to alter your letter slightly, Petal.
There are laws against that sort of thing, you know.
Dear Hillary,
What do you do about friends that keep on arriving from the
old country? I’ve had six sets this year and it looks like there are more
coming after New Year. If I had nothing else to do other than entertain old
friends then it would be fine, but I have work I have to do as well. I don’t
want to give old friends the cold shoulder, but I’m at my wits end, honestly!
What should I do?
Guesthouse Gordon
Dear Gordon,
This is a very common problem when you live in a place
that other people save for 11 months to come and visit. It is also very normal
for your old friends to want to see you, and possibly save some money by
staying with you. You actually have the answer already when you called yourself
“Guest house” Gordon. Hillary suggests that you run the home more on the
guest house lines. Tell your friends that as you have other work to do, you
will leave everything out for them for their breakfast and then you will meet
them for dinner at 7 p.m. and do the evening together from there. I am sure
your friends will appreciate that even though they are on holidays, you are
not. They need time to themselves too and will be grateful for the chances to
explore on their own. Have some brochures in their room with suggested trips
like the local travel agents and let them take it from there. They will be
happy, you can do your work, and you can enjoy each other’s company at night.
Dear Hillary,
Our son, who is 39 years old, seems to have fallen in love
with a local girl here in Thailand. He has had other ‘romances’ at home in
Texas, but they have not been the sort of girls you would want your son to
marry. His father and I were very pleased when they left after they could see
his father and I were not going to welcome them into our home and lavish money
on them. You know the gold-digger type. This local girl seems nice enough - his
father and I came over to see what she is like, but is there some way we could
check her background? We do not want to see him make some silly mistakes. He is
talking about getting married.
Texas Mom
Dear Texas Mom,
How old is this “boy” of yours? 9 or 39? Heavens to
Betsy, Texas Mom, let the young chap get on with his life without his parents
interfering. By this stage in his life he should be on his second marriage, not
waiting for Mom to approve. The only background that needs checking is his - to
find out where he got such meddlesome parents.
Dear Hillary,
Is there something wrong with me? I’m from America and I
am not used to going into a bar to be propositioned. I don’t want to have
someone ask me where I come from. I don’t want people to know how much money
I make. How many children I have is my affair. Why doesn’t someone tell these
girls in the bars that not everyone wants to tell them personal details? I have
one nice girl and I am happy. We are even looking at getting married soon.
Tex
Dear Tex,
Your Mom isn’t from Texas is she? You seem to have a
real problem somewhere here. If you don’t want the sort of attention you
describe, my Petal, then you should drink at different bars. You are obviously
not taking your girl with you either, because if you did the girls would leave
you alone. On looking at it, I think you should take Texas Mom with you and let
her give these girls a lecture. It would be better for you, I am sure.
A Slice of Thai History: Taksin the Great and the Thonburi Period 1767-1782
Part One
by Duncan steam
Following the fall and destruction of Ayutthaya in
April 1767 and the subsequent death of King Ekkathat, centralised rule in
Thailand disintegrated in the wake of the, albeit brief, Burmese
occupation. The Burmese presumed their destruction of Ayutthaya had
rendered the Thai nation impotent as a major force in the region.
The Thais were, however, fortunate in having two
military commanders blessed with above average ability: Phrya Taksin and
Chaophraya Chakri (also known as Thong Duang and Yodfa Chulaloke).
Taksin, was born in Uttaradit (known as the city of
‘widows and virgins’ because it served as a battle front and a buffer
against invading armies) to a Chinese father who was a minor court
official in Ayutthaya. Taksin had been appointed governor of the province
of Tak but had joined in the defence of the besieged Ayutthaya. Realising
the city was doomed, he and Chaophraya Chakri had hacked their way out
with around 500 men before the fall, retreating to Chantaburi and taking
control of the eastern seaboard region.
The Burmese had left a division under a commander named
Saki in control of the ruined Ayutthaya and the area south to Bangkok.
Tong-In, a Thai collaborator, was appointed governor of Bangkok.
The remainder of the country was largely controlled by
four men. At Uttaradit, a Buddhist monk known as the Priest Prince of
Fang, held sway in the far north; Prince Teppipat, who had previously been
banished to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), controlled the northeast from Pimai and
Khorat; another man ruled the area around Phitsanulok and a fourth held
sway in Nakhon Si Thammarat and the south.
Phrya Taksin was determined to re-unite the country but
decided to do it alone. Taksin knew any attempt to combine the forces
available to the various governors around the country would only lead to a
renewed Burmese invasion. The element of surprise was essential.
Accordingly, he gathered his strength in Chantaburi and
Chonburi and sailed to Bangkok in late October. Taksin launched a surprise
attack, took the port, put Tong-In to death and then sailed on to
Ayutthaya.
Taksin’s force took the ruined city after most of the
defenders, Thai troops pressed into the service of the Burmese, defected.
Saki decamped to a point south of Ayutthaya.
Taksin’s army moved against the Burmese force on 6
November 1767 and overwhelmed them in a day of fighting. The Thai
commander then disinterred the body of King Ekkathat and accorded it full
cremation honours.
Realising that the destruction of Ayutthaya had been so
complete as to render the site almost indefensible, and aware that the
Burmese would be able to muster forces far greater than those currently at
his disposal, Taksin decided to establish the new Thai capital at Thonburi,
on the west bank of what is now the main flow of the Chao Phrya River from
the port of Bangkok. At the time, the Chao Phrya River flowed in greater
volume west of Thonburi while the current main flow was merely a canal
constructed in the mid-1500s.
There were five compelling reasons for choosing
Thonburi. First, as a port it already had defensive walls and was small
enough to make it easily defensible. Second, it was located on the bank of
a deep water river with an equally deep water canal (now the main river)
on its flank, thereby making defence easier. Third, if the city was in
danger of collapse by siege, the defenders could easily make their escape
towards Chantaburi. Fourth, because it was located near the mouth of the
river, it controlled all communication from the north and south to the
sea. Fifth, its location also made sea trade and communication easier and
reduced the dependency on supply from the north of Thailand.
Personal Directions: It is going to be a great year!
by Christina Dodd
A friend said to me this week that he hoped the year 2004
would bring some dramatic and more positive changes to his life. Something
we all hope for right? But before you get too excited about it, ask the
question to yourself, “Who or what is going to bring the dramatic and
positive changes you so earnestly hope for?” They are not going to jump
out of nowhere and land in your lap are they! They are going to come about
mostly as a result of you and what you do.
It’s so automatic for us to wish each other well and to
“hope” for a better and brighter New Year. Let’s change what we say to
something more affirmative, something like “2004 is going to be a great
year for you”, or “you will have a fantastic year this new year”, or
“it will be a year of enormous opportunity”. Let’s change the way we
say things to a more energetic, positive and clear level.
You may think that season’s greetings and New Year
wishes deserve a certain amount of traditional thought and expression. That
is true to an extent and after all, we say them the way we do because it has
become a habit. But why not do something differently to welcome the season
and to bring in the New Year. Take the bull by the horns and change the way
you do things this year right from the start.
Human beings are really quite remarkable. We want to have
a better life, happy times, opportunity, better finances and all the things
that go with that, but we want these things without having to do anything.
We think that wanting them is enough to bring them! We forget that unless we
change the way we do things, things are going to be just the same.
That’s exactly what is true of life. Life and the way
you live it will stay the same if you keep living it the same way. Maybe for
some of you that is precisely what you want. I suspect it is not the case
for most people though. Life and the way you live it will and can definitely
change, if you begin to change the way you do things, little by little, step
by step and in earnest!
So with your life this year, what are you going to do to
ensure it is going to be one of the best years in your life? Have you
thought about it or are you going to let it simply control you and take you
where it wants to go? Is that the way you are going to approach it? Rather
like being in a rowing boat without any oars, being tossed about at the will
of other influences. Is that how your year will be?
Or will your year have direction and focus right from day
one? Is that how you are going to live 2004? I certainly will be - more
correctly - I am living that right now. I cannot wake up each day unless it
is with positive thought and imagination. I have been down the road of
waking up with all my worries and problems and it is just so destructive in
every way possible. To bring about differences, change the way you do things
and if it is a simple change like waking up with a focused and inspired
mind, then do it. You will immediately have a sense of well-being and it may
just be a tiny step, but it is really and much bigger one than you think.
You can control the way you think and when you first open
your eyes in the morning you can think positively, then you have the chance
of having a positive day. That does not necessarily mean that your day will
be easy. Being positive doesn’t mean that a task will be easy, but it will
drive your confidence and energy and you will be more likely to achieve the
task at hand.
Start each new day and wake up using you powers of
imagination. Imagine your day and the things that you are going to achieve
in the day. Imagine the processes and the results in an affirmative way.
Imagine the success of a task as opposed to the failure of it. Your
imagination is a powerful influence in the results of your day. It sets the
tone for how you behave and act and think about things, and people. It is a
force that you can develop to help you find focus and direction.
Of course keep hold of a sense of reality in this. This
is an unspoken rule of life and achievement in life. If your imagination
runs too wild and too far away from reasonable and achievable tasks, then
you will be in for a big let-down and when this happens, you are most likely
going to feel like a ton of bricks has hit you in the face and the result is
you will lose your self-confidence. When self-confidence drops, it can have
devastating effects and will make it that much harder for you to pick
yourself up and get back into it. You will most likely give up, more than
pick yourself up and carry on.
So, be realistic. Keep your finger on reality and begin
your day with focused positive achievables. The moment your eyes open and
you are awake, find clarity and calm. Try this to help you: sit up perhaps
on the edge of the bed and close your eyes. Rest your hands palms up and
open on your lap in a pose that is receptive to your thoughts. Relax the
muscles in your face, your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your back, and
all the way down your body. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Inhale deeply
again, and exhale slowly. When you inhale, imagine you are inhaling all the
power of the universe inside you. Think of the beauty of this power. When
you exhale, imagine you are releasing all the worry and stress and pain in
your life and seeing it disappear before you. Inhale and exhale with these
thoughts in your mind. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Inhale and exhale to
the natural rhythm of your body.
If you take this simple exercise and practise it each
morning it will give you a different view of the day and how you are going
to live that day. It doesn’t take very long to do and the only way to know
how it feels is to do it, right? So here is something that perhaps for some
of you is different and can begin to change the way you act in life, for the
better. Go ahead and try it. What have you got to lose? A few minutes which
you should be devoting to yourself anyway. You are important and worth every
second!
If you would like a presentation on our training or life
coaching services, or any of our other professional and life skills
programs, then please contact me at Christina.dodd @asiatrainingassociates.com
Until next time, have a tremendous week!
Social Commentary by Khai Khem:
A new year, a fresh start
The New Year is a universal occasion for lavish parties and
grand celebrations. We say farewell to the old year, sometimes with sentimental
regret that a very good year has passed and will never come round again.
Sometimes we say goodbye to a year that’s been 12 months of nothing but
aggravation and disappointment and are glad to see the end of it. Each of us has
had bad years we’re happy to see the back of, and as we countdown the minutes
to midnight; the New Year is welcomed with hope and optimism.
This is the time we start to make a list of New Year
resolutions. These are promises made to ourselves - commitments to certain
changes that we’ve been meaning to make, but have neglected to implement for
one reason or another in the past. Many New Year resolutions are often tossed
aside when the euphoria of the moment has passed and the New Year is no longer
new. But we can still give them a try.
I recently asked friends about their resolutions for 2004.
Many responses included the common promises to stop smoking, lose weight, get
more exercise, join a gym, work harder for that promotion, refurbish the family
homestead, and spend more time with the spouse and kiddies.
A night out with the ‘boys’ in South Pattaya proved more
amusing. One gentleman actually pulled a written list from his shirt pocket and
read out a long list of things he plans to change for the New Year. His list
dealt with problems he’d been having with his live-in girlfriend and her
family. He intended to put his house up for sale and buy a one-room bed-sit so
small that her extended family would have to sleep on the high-rise balcony when
they descended en mass for a visit. His new rule for them would be that they
could only visit during the monsoon season, which would, in effect, leave them
‘out in the rain’.
On the last banking day of the year he planned to close the
joint bank account, and give his lover a weekly allowance in cash. Not that
there was much left in the account. After paying off her gambling debts, the
balance was miniscule and was hardly worth the bother. He also planned to sell
their car and buy two motorbikes. Apparently his lady is a manic driver and
since the car is in the shop for accident repairs more often than on the road,
this seemed a sensible solution. Two motorcycles would leave him covered for
transportation - one always in the repair shop and one still fit to drive.
I mentioned hospital and life insurance and he added it to
the list. Of course he thought I mean coverage for HER. I was actually
suggesting he take the policies out on himself since I figured he would be in
deep ‘ca-ca’ once he sprang these surprises on his girlfriend come January
2nd.
My candid friend who so generously shared his new plans for
2004 prompted a few comments from others at the bar. One man said he’d been a
drunk for so many years that it was time to shape up. A switch from gin to vodka
was his idea of saving his liver, since he’d heard that vodka was not as rough
as gin. I agreed it was a great idea - if he planned to keep the vodka in the
bottle and not ingest it.
As our lively conversation continued, more people gathered to
contribute. An elderly German couple who were vacationing in Pattaya said they
had also made some resolutions. Topping their list was another holiday in
Thailand. They had heard that Pattaya had an unsavory reputation (who hasn’t)
but declared they were enjoying themselves so much that they would return next
year for a longer stay. According to them the only drawback they’d encountered
was that they had both gained 8 kilos gorging on Thai cuisine.
The bar girl who had been serving us vowed that come the New
Year, she would learn to drive and asked for volunteers to teach her. After the
prolonged pause invoked an embarrassing silence, Sir Galahad with the leveraged
liver - now well into his cups - made an offer. I winced and briefly considered
a career as an insurance salesperson. I was certainly in the midst of some
prospective clients.
“No more trips upcountry to the family rice farm,”
declared a newcomer to our group. After years of bi-annual visits to his
wife’s family village, his pitiful pension could no longer sustain the
increasing demands for upkeep of an extended family, most of whom he’d never
met. “Just how many brothers and sisters can one woman have in a family?” he
pondered. “Every time I go there they seem to multiply like double-entry
bookkeeping.”
I hid my smirk. Lovely Thai nymphs often ‘cook the books’
when cohabitating with a ‘farang’. It seemed unkind to point out the obvious
during the season that promotes “Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Man”. A
30-year age difference does have its rewards for both parties, and I withheld
the usual caustic remark.
One man had decided to finally bring his alimony payments up
to their current status. His ex-wife lives in Canada and although he sends no
remittances during the rest of the year, when the holiday season comes round, he
feels guilty and pays in one lump sum. An American woman in our group was
startled at the revelation. She had come to Thailand to look up her ‘ex’ and
extract the amount of money he still owed her. The look in her eye was pure
malice and I got the impression she would collect her pound of flesh even if the
body-part went back home with her in one of those ice-coolers medics use to
transport ‘living’ hearts and kidneys.
I haven’t yet made any resolutions for 2004. I still wait
for inspiration. Meanwhile, I want to wish our readers a happy, prosperous and
healthy New Year and may 2004 bring joy to you all!
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